Adjustable nozzle for coating machines



y 1952 E. B. HURLEY 2,597,331

ADJUSTABLE NOZZLE FOR COATING MACHINES Filed May 15, 1947 [L EL/WEE 5. HUBL'Y INVENTOR f ATTORNEYS Patented May 20, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE? ADJUSTABLE NOZZLE, FOR COATING. MACHINES Elmer B. Hurley, Chicago, Ill.,. assignor to Con; tinental Can Company, Inc New-York-, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 15, 1947, S erial No. 748,207

5 Claims; (01. 299-9133) pliedunder pressure.- through a valve which is.

periodically opened to allow the composition to be deposited in the groove of the can end. Satisfactor-y: operation demands instantaneous opening and closing-of the valve and an exact timing to provide for two continuous coats to be applied during two revolutions. of the can end. Any delay in opening the valve will leave an abnormally thin coated area at one point while delay in clos-' ing', the valve at the conclusion of the coating operation results in the production of' a tapering tail of'thecomposition. This makes an abnormally thick spot in the coating and is alsocar ried= over the adjacent surfaceor edge of'the can end. This unevencoating interferes with subsequent double seaming and efiicient sealing of the end tothe can body. The result of this is to cause coated can ends to adhere and prevents their normal feeding to cans. It also-forms an undesirable-smearonthe surface of the ends.

Asshown in the above mentionedpatent, it is customaryto mount the needle-valve ofthe coat ing nozzle in a flexible diaphragm, usually a sheet of rubber through which the screw threaded shank of the needle valve is clamped by means of nuts. This flexible diaphragm ofrubber-like material has a relatively short life. It may require replacement once every working day. One cause isthe rapid flexing of the diaphragm by the needlevalve. Anotherimportant cause of rapid deterioration has-been the recent use of-synthetic: resinous coating compositions. These coating compositions contain solvents for example, lower aliphatic ketones, which seriously afiect rubber and similardiaphragm materials.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved nozzle for coating machines which shall have uniformity of operation throughout a. long seidzpa eni' m.a1s -Hei a v lveasins'; 5 havi gran inlet R ge or. e iquid; c atin om: ..I positionwhiclr is. delivered under pressure- As 1 ove stated. this Qamaound; ma be.- a ynthetic period'ofjus e.

is; r longthe e ectivelife ofithcse valvestructures breassessment, materials which star are ether objector my invention. o are sistant. to the chemical action. orsoftening effect of the solvents customarily present in resinous.

coating compositions.

Among the objects of my inventionisto improve the precision of valve movement inboth opening and closing operations free from the effect of a static load experienced wherever a flexible diaphragm is used. 1

A still further object ofmy invention is to permit the removal of the needlevalve forrepointing or replacement without dismantling the valve. structure orremoving its diaphragm.

Incidental to the last named object, it is found that the improved device permits close adjustment of' the valve from. outside. the valve struc-.- ture.

As already pointedout, the invention enables positive, instantaneous. opening and closing of the needle valve without experiencing any lag in its movement. In this way the coating-operation starts always at. the same point in "the cycle and the supply of coating composition is cutofi positively at the end of" the desired delivery period without producing any tail of excess liquid which would'otherwise spread over the edge of j the cover as it is being removed.

' diaphragm plateand,

Figr'3xis a side elevationlof the needle valve and plate partly in section.

Broadly speaking, my invention consistsin substitutinga rigid, preferably metalliqand non-corrosive partition for the usual resilient. rubberlike diaphragm. The seal between the needle valve andthe diaphragm is spaced away from the plane.-of 'theinintersection, andthe needle valve and partiti'on areconnected by an expansible resilient metallicbellows. Further, theneedie valve is: screwthreaded through the bellows in such; a way as to permit ready adjustment of thevalve and yet-preventmaterialloss of the coating composition.

In the preferred form illustrated, I have shown the invention as applied to a can-end lining machine similar to that disclosed in the above men'- tioned patent to- Troyer et' a1. Like the. structure resinous liquid having a wide range of viscosity. It may also contain any one of the usual solvents suitable for the purpose and which does not corrode ferrous metals.

The inlet pipe has a screw-threaded end I. This carries a clamping ring 8 and an opposed clamping nut 9 by which the casing is mounted on the lining machine.

I have also shown a union nut Ill by which the inlet pipe is connected to the conduit supplying the coating liquid.

Valve casing 5 has a valve chamber ll. chamber has a tapering bottom ending in a discharge nipple l2. This nipple is screw-threaded as at [3. A conical valve tip I4 is clamped tightly to the end of the nipple l2 by means of a knurled nut I5.

The opposite upper end of the valve chamber II has a flange 16. A removable cap I1 is held on the flange l 6 by means of bolts.

A collar i9 forms the upper portion of the cap [1 and is externally screw threaded as at 20. The collar I9 has an axial bore which holds a' gasket 2| or similar packing. The gasket 2| is held down by the gland 22 anda nut 23 which is threaded on collar l9.

Needle valve 24 has its tapered head 25 fitting within the valve tip I4. The rear shank 26 of the needle valve 24 moves slidably in the packing 2| and gland 22. The needle valve has an intermediate screw-threaded portion 21 extending substantially through the valve chamber I I.

I have provided a rigid plate 28 to be seated between the upper flange l6 and the cap ll. This plate has a central opening 29 through which the needle valve 24 moves freely. a

The bottom surface of the plate 28 carries a resilient metal bellows 30. The upper end of the bellows 30 is attached as by soldering to the plate 28 in a liquid tight manner.

The lower end of the bellows 30 carries a transverse disk 3| soldered or otherwise attached thereto in a liquid tight manner.

Disk 3| has an axial bore 32 which is screwthreaded to receive the intermediate threaded portion 21 of the needle valve.

The can-ends 32 are held in a chuck formed of opposed pads 33, 34. The chuck is brought into position with the curl I8 of the ends beneath and opposite the nozzle tip [4. The chuckis rotated rapidly for two revolutions and the needle valve raisedsimultaneously. A thin. spray of coating composition is deposited in the curl of the can end without producing any overlap or tail. The operation is repeated for each canend presented.

Movement of the needle valve is accommodated by expansion and contraction of the bellows. The plate 28 remains rigid. The bellows withstand rapid operation without noticeable deterioration and consequently has a much longer life than is the case with a rubber-like diaphragm. As the erate satisfactorily for a considerablfirdncreased lengthof time. For example, in a device in which the rubber type diaphragm had a normal life of The 7 4 about 7000 coating operations each involving a 1%" stroke, the metal bellows is estimated to be serviceable for over 500,000 similar operations.

Furthermore, the structure made exclusively of metal withstands satisfactorily any corrosive or solvent effect of the materials found in the liquid coating composition. f

The screw threaded engagement between the disk and the needle valve is reasonably liquid tight. In addition, this makes possible the removal of the needle valve to correct for wear on its tapered point or for the substitution of a new needle valve. It will be clearly apparent that minor adjustment in the opening and closing relation of the needle valve to the top can be obtained without dismantling the transverse plate 28.

By this means, the accuracy of coating is greatly improved. The deposit is found to have exactly the desired circumferential extent without abnormal thin or thick portions and without leaving a "tail" of coating composition on the curl or adjacent parts of the end.

This particular type of valve is cam operated and does not have a back up spring to take up any play in the cam linkage after the lifting pressure is removed. Because of this any play due to wear or misfit in the linkage will result in a sluggish return of the nozzle to the seated or closed position. The bellows is under compression when the valve is open and tends to return to its normal dimension with a spring-like force when the lifting pressure is removed. This force is sufficient to overcome any discrepanciesin the cam linkage and will result in a sharp closing of the valve. 7

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be clearly understood that it is not limited in proportions, materials or structural details other than by the terms of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A valve device comprising a casing having a valve chamber, an inlet and an outlet therefor, said outlet forming a valve seat, a cover for the chamber, a packed slide-bearing in the cover, a. transverse partition having a central opening, a resilient bellows of chemical resisting material attached to the partition around the opening, an apertured disk on the opposite end of the bellows, and a needle-valve having a tapered end in the valve seat, and having a shank adjustably held by screw-threaded engagement with the disk of the bellows and projecting through the slidebearing, said screw-threaded engagement comprising the sole means for securing the shank to the disk. 4

2. A valve device comprising a casing having a valve chamber, an inlet and an outlet therefor, said outlet forming a valve seat, a cover for the chamber, a packed slide-bearing in the cover, a transverse rigid metallic partition having a central opening, a bellows of resilient metal attached to the partition around the opening, an apertured disk on the opposite end of the bellows, and a needle-valve having a tapered end in the valve seat, and having a shank adjustably held' in screw-threaded engagement with the disk of the bellows and projecting through the slide-bearing, said screw-threaded engagement comprising the sole means for securing the shank to the disk.

3. A valve device comprising a casing having a valve chamber; an inlet and an outlet therefor, said outlet forming a valve seat, 'a cover for the chamber,- a packed slide-bearing in thecover,

a transverse rigid metallic partition having a central opening, a bellows of resilient metal attached to the partition around the opening, a disk on the opposite end of the bellows and having a central screw-threaded aperture, and a needlevalve having a tapered end in the valve seat, having a screw-threaded intermediate portion adjustable through the aperture of the disk and in screw-threaded engagement with the disk and having a shank projecting through the slidebearing, said screw-threaded engagement comprising the sole means for securing the shank to the disk.

4. A valve device comprising a casing having a valve chamber, an inlet and an outlet therefor, said outlet forming a valve seat, a cover for the chamber, a packed slide-bearing in the cover, a transverse rigid metallic partition having a central opening, an expandable metallic bellows attached to the partition around the opening, an apertured disk on the opposite end of the bellows, and a needle-valve having a tapered end in the valve seat and having a shank adjustably held in screw-threaded engagement with the disk of the bellows and projecting through the slidebearing, said screw-threaded engagement comprising the sole means for securing the shank to the disk.

5. A valve device comprising a casing having a valve chamber, an inlet and an outlet therefor, said outlet forming a valve seat, a cover for the chamber, a packed slide-bearing in the cover, a transverse rigid metallic partition having a central opening, a bellows of resilient metal attached to the partition around the opening and extending toward the chamber outlet, an apertured disk on the end of the bellows nearer the outlet, and a needle-valve having a tapered end receivable in the valve seat, and having a shank adjustably held in screw-threaded engagement with the disk of the bellows and having its opposite end projecting slidably through the slide-bearing, said screw-threaded engagement comprising the sole means for securing the shank to the disk.

ELMER B. HURLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 888,449 Mikorey May 19, 1908 1,268,597 Montreuil June 4, 1918 1,470,111 Biersdorf Oct. 9, 1923 1,955,670 Coyle Apr. 17, 1934 1,970,546 Clapper Aug. 21, 1934 2,190,326 Benoit Feb. 13, 1940 2,199,454 Andler et al May '7, 1940 2,324,455 Keim et al July 13, 1943 2,403,994 Paynter July 16, 1946 

